Lai Yi proudly raised his little head, casting a very haughty glance at Song Jicai and the others.
Chu Huan finished writing the reply and tied it to Lai Yi’s leg. He wanted to reach out and stroke Lai Yi’s little head, but Lai Yi dodged away.
Lai Yi let out a call at Chu Huan, then flapped its wings and flew away.
Chu Huan felt that he just saw disdain in the sparrow’s eyes.
"We have to go to the spring hunt tomorrow, let’s hurry back and prepare."
At this time, Zhao Yao was testing the bow and arrow given to him by the fourth prince at the martial arts arena.
Wei Mian and Tong Xi stood by, watching Zhao Yao practice archery.
The fourth prince had to study history in Lanyuan Pavilion and could not come to the martial arts arena to watch Zhao Yao practice with the new bow and arrow, so he sent Wei Mian to check on it.
Zhao Yao shot three arrows in succession, each arrow hitting the bull’s-eye.
Seeing Zhao Yao stop, Wei Mian stepped forward and asked with concern, "Your Highness, how do you find the bow and arrows, do they suit you?"
Zhao Yao smiled and said, "The bow and arrows that elder brother sent are really wonderful to use, much lighter than the bows and arrows I usually practice with."
"My liege specifically had them made according to your habits, do you like them?"
"Like them, I like them very much," Zhao Yao said, his face full of smiles, "Elder brother is truly wonderful."
"It’s truly great that you like them," Wei Mian said, "His Highness was worried you might not."
"How could that be, I like anything elder brother sends," Zhao Yao said. Thinking of something, he curiously asked, "Aren’t heavier bows better, why did elder brother send lightweight ones?"
"Your Highness, because you are still young and have not been learning archery for long, using heavy bows and arrows during the spring hunt could strain your arms, so my liege specifically had these lightweight ones made for you."
"Elder brother is really too good to me," Zhao Yao said, picking up another arrow, aiming at the target not far away, "I must hunt a fox to give to elder brother." After saying this, he released the arrow, which hit the bull’s-eye with a thud.
"Wei Mian, what kind of feathers are on the arrows?" Zhao Yao asked, picking up another arrow and examining the feathers on its tail.
"They’re golden eagle feathers," Wei Mian said, "Last autumn hunt, my liege shot a golden eagle, so he used its feathers to make arrows."
"Oh, I remember now, last year elder brother received a bow and arrow from father as a reward for hitting a golden eagle." Last spring hunt, he was too young to participate, but he went to watch with the Queen and others. At that time, elder brother hit a golden eagle, making quite a splash at the hunt and receiving praise and rewards from father, much to the envy of third brother and the others.
"Yes, my liege said that arrows made with golden eagle feathers would be very useful, so he made many, but they won’t be used every day. He plans to use them for the spring and autumn hunts," Wei Mian said.
"Elder brother really is too good to me; it seems I should give him two foxes," Zhao Yao said, handing the bow and arrow back to Tong Xi, "Take these back and store them safely."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"I’ll go to Lanyuan Pavilion to find elder brother."
The fourth prince, seeing Zhao Yao coming to find him, quickly asked whether the bow and arrows fit well.
"Elder brother, they fit perfectly," Zhao Yao quickly thanked the fourth prince, "Elder brother, I really like them, thank you so much."
"Glad you like them."
"Elder brother, you’re so good to me, I must give you two foxes."
The fourth prince joked, "Even if you give me three foxes, I wouldn’t mind."
"Then I’ll strive to hit three foxes," Zhao Yao said, sitting beside the fourth prince, watching him copy historical manuscripts.
The fourth prince and his companions had to be very serious and concentrated when copying manuscripts, making no mistakes. If they made even one mistake, they had to start again. Not only could they not make mistakes, but the writing also had to be neat and beautiful.
Watching the fourth prince copy manuscripts, Zhao Yao suddenly thought of something. When he grows up, becomes an adult, and is enfeoffed, he wants to invite Mr. Xiao to teach the children in his fief to read, and for that, he will definitely need books, and lots of them. There aren’t many books in Kunde Hall, meaning he’ll have to buy books to take to his fief.
Books are not cheap, and he doesn’t have that much money.
The fourth prince, having finished copying a page, saw Zhao Yao frowning and looking troubled, and asked with concern, "What’s wrong?"
Zhao Yao snapped out of his thoughts and asked the fourth prince, "Elder brother, don’t you find it tedious to copy books every day, and isn’t this method of copying too slow?" Just now, he remembered something very important. In his dreams, Zhao Yao had seen many books, and they were not hand-copied, but printed.